On September 11, the Handel and
Haydn Society’s Young Men’s and
Young Women’s Choruses performed
at NEC’s Jordan Hall as part of the City
of Boston’s “Day of Remembrance.”
The centerpiece of the program was
the world premiere of Illuminessence:
prayers for peace, an interfaith oratorio
commissioned by the Vatican from
composer Silvio Amato. Other pieces
included Massenet’s “Meditation” from
Thaïs and an excerpt from Beethoven’s
Symphony No. 9 featuring the famous
“Ode to Joy.” The Handel and Haydn
choristers performed alongside
soloists from NEC and the NEC Youth
Philharmonic Orchestra and Youth
Chorale, led by Benjamin Zander. The
event was broadcast live by WGBH on
both of its stations, All-Classical 95.5
and 89.7.
We extend our apologies to Hannah Frith,
whose name was not included on the 9/11
program roster. Ms. Frith has been a faithful and
valuable member of VAP (Singers, Youth Chorus,
and Young Women’s Chorus) since 2005.

CURRENT VAP NEWS
SINGERS
Breanna Vasily was awarded “most
enthusiastic in water sports” at Camp
Leslie, where she swam in Pentucket Pond
and received instruction in crafts, archery,
dancing, and basketball.

YOUTH CHORUS
Jaime Boag performed in her middle
school talent show this past spring,
wowing the audience with her
performance of Lady Gaga’s Paparazzi.
Alana Despres attended the Boston
Symphony Orchestra’s Days in the Arts
(DARTS) camp at Tanglewood.
Amaya Sangurima-Jimenez played violin at
the Somerville String Camp during the last
two weeks of July.

YOUNG MEN’S CHORUS, YOUNG
WOMEN’S CHORUS, AND SOLOISTS
Susan Dudka attended The Boston
Conservatory’s Vocal/Choral Intensive
Program in July.
Britta Erikson sang at Berklee College of
Music’s Vocal Summit in June (3 days) and
at Berklee’s Singer-Songwriter and Vocal
Performance Program at its new campus in
Valencia, Spain. Sixty participants from 20
countries were accepted to the program
and worked with Sally Taylor, Livingston
Taylor, Donna McElroy, Ken Zambello, and
Soledad Gimenez, among others. Britta
also attended The Boston Conservatory’s
Vocal/Choral Intensive Program in July.
Lynea German auditioned for American
Idol at Hollywood Studios Disney in
August with “Colors of the Wind” from
Disney’s Pocahontas. She made it to the
finals and placed in the top two out of
four contestants.

Kathryn (Katie) Hopkins participated
in Emerson College’s Pre-College
Studio Acting Program from July
11–August 13. The program gives
high school juniors and seniors the
opportunity to develop their acting
skills, and also gives students the
opportunity to prepare, refine, and
perform audition pieces.
Bailey Lee attended the New
England Music Camp as a violist
with the BYSO Repertory Orchestra.
She also ranked ninth out of
168 420 crews by the Southern
Massachusetts Sailing Association
after participating in six designated
Grand Prix regattas in July and
August. Stephenson (Steve) Lee
ranked 12th out of 158 420 skippers
by the Southern Massachusetts
Sailing Association after participating
in six Grand Prix regattas. Both Bailey
and Steve became US Sailing Level
1-certified sailing instructors and
were junior sailing instructors at a
yacht club on Cape Cod.
Megan Peterson and Ruby Sands
sang at the Harmony Explosion!
summer camp at Worcester State
University from August 11–14. Megan
also spent 10 days on a mission trip
with Mission Possible, an outreach
program that addresses the basic
needs of the underserved, as well as
spiritual training and ministry.
Jessica Toupin was a cast member
at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine
this past August. On August 6 and 7,
she performed the role of the Fairy
Mother Wilhelmina in the children’s
play Fairy Houses. Following that
play, she was a member of the
children’s ensemble for The Music
Man from August 9–20.

Christian Figueroa sang the national anthem at the Red Sox game
against the Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park on August 4 (the Sox
won!). Christian also performed in a gala fundraiser on October 6 in
San Juan, Puerto Rico, for his high school alma mater, Academia del
Perpetuo Socorro (Our Lady of Perpetual Help), sharing the stage
with Broadway actors Josie de Guzman, Tony Chiroldes, and others.

Carolyn Cole (Soloists ’01) presented a cabaret concert
at LynnArts on July 30 to help support the efforts of
SPIN (Serving People in Need, Inc.), an organization that
provides summer youth employment and arts programs
in Lynn. The show was a mix of rock, blues, and musical
theater featuring Carolyn and the Rusty Scott Trio.
Carolyn recently performed in The Stephen Schwartz
Project in Washington, DC. She resides in New York City.

H&H welcomes Alyson Greer, newly appointed conductor of the
Young Women’s Chorus, this fall. Since 2006, she has been Director
of Choral Music at Hanover High School, where she directs five
choirs. Alyson is also the Co-Founder and Assistant Director of
Quincy Point Music Academy. She holds both a Bachelor of Music
degree in Vocal Performance and a Master of Music Education
degree from The Boston Conservatory. She was a Full Conductor
Fellow at the Sarteano Chamber Choir Conducting Workshop
(Tuscany, Italy), where she participated in master classes with Simon
Carrington and Bronislawa Falinska and was a featured alto soloist in
the Chamber Choir. We also congratulate Alyson and her husband
Allan Espinosa on their wedding last July.
Michelle Shoemaker (Music Theory Instructor) joined the
administration at the All Newton Music School as Director of
Communications in September. She also played clarinet in a recital
with flutist Vanessa Breault Mulvey in September at The Crane
School of Music in Potsdam, NY, as part of the alumni performance
series celebrating the school’s 125th anniversary.
Susan (Consoli) Turner sang with the Boston Camerata in concerts of
early American music on August 27 and 28 at the Parc Floral de Paris,
France.

Michael Maloney (Soloists ’09) performed this summer at
the Yankee Homecoming in Newburyport, at Dockside
Restaurant in Malden for a benefit concert, and at the
Farmer’s Market in front of Boston City Hall. He was also
a featured artist at Best Buy Boston in June, took three
summer courses at UMass Boston, and was a musical
director for a summer program at the Wang Theatre.
Michael can be heard at youtube.com/michaelmmusic.
Roxanne Michaud (YWC ’09) entered the Art Institute of
Boston as an Art History major this fall.
Suzanne Wyman (YWC ’09) is a junior at Boston
University. She is majoring in Advertising at the College of
Communication with a concentration in Women’s Studies.
Liza Ziering (YWC ’10) is majoring in Music at Kenyon
College in Ohio (Class of 2013), where she sings with the
Concert Chorale and enjoys composing. This fall, she
is studying at University College Cork in County Cork,
Ireland, where she is also attending an Early Start Semester
program in Irish music.

IN MEMORIAM

LEFT: Accepting the Maze Award in 2011. RIGHT TOP: Singing in a soloists recital. RIGHT BOTTOM: Receiving the Achtmeyer Award in 2008.

EVANGELYNA ETIENNE
Evangelyna Etienne (Soloists ‘08, Achtmeyer Award ’08, Maze Award ’11)
passed away on September 11. Evangelyna joined VAP Singers at age 10 in
2001, and progressed through Youth Chorus and Young Women’s Chorus;
as a High School Soloist she studied voice and vocal chamber music with
Barbara Winchester at NEC. She completed her junior year as a Music
Education major at Gordon College, where she studied voice with Susan
Brooks. Evangelyna was one of only four winners nationwide of the Eric
Whitacre Scholarship and sang under his direction at Carnegie Hall in 2010.
In her 2011 Maze Award essay, Evangelyna wrote, “My interest in classical
music is solely due to my involvement with H&H.… I know I wouldn’t be
in music education, or music at all, if I didn’t have wonderful musicians
who brought out and nurtured the musician within me.” Faculty members
Matthew Garrett and Lisa Graham (chorus), Bert Yocom (piano), and Barbara
Winchester (voice) recalled how much they enjoyed teaching Evangelyna, a
talented student who demonstrated tremendous warmth and dignity over
the years.
A VAP scholarship will be established in Evangelyna’s honor
later this year. For information or to make a contribution,
contact Emily Yoder at 617 262 1815 or eyoder@handelandhaydn.org.

SPOTLIGHT: ANNA STROMER

Anna (third from left) with Jared Leto (fourth from left) and his band, 30 Seconds to Mars, after their performance on MTV Unplugged.

Anna Stromer joined VAP in 2004 and sang in both Youth Chorus and
Young Women’s Chorus before being accepted to the VAP Soloist program
in 2006. She studied voice with Barbara Winchester at NEC. She also
studied viola with William Frampton and Alexander Vavilov and played
first stand viola in the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. The Society’s
Education Committee was so moved by her
talent on both voice and viola that she was
awarded a special “Music Encouragement” prize
“H&H not only gave
in 2009.
Since graduating from VAP, Anna has been
appointed violist for the Vitamin String
Quartet. This group, with Anna, made its live
debut on MTV Unplugged: 30 Seconds to Mars
with singer Jared Leto in August.

Anna the viola
lessons, but also the few chances for solo
performance she had in order to gain the
confidence to do something like this.”
– JOAN STROMER , ANNA’S MOTHER

In addition to her performance with Vitamin String Quartet, Anna also
played viola on Wyclef Jean’s upcoming CD. She is a member of the rock
band Art Decade, which recently recorded its first of several CDs with
Eldest Only productions. She entered the Berklee College of Music as a
freshman Viola Performance major in September 2011.

Web Extra:
Scan the QR
code above to
view Anna
performing.

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a contribution online, visit handelandhaydn.org/support. Thank you for your support.
For foundation and corporate giving contact:
Trevor Pollack
tpollack@handelandhaydn.org or 617 262 1815 x116

A principal leader of Boston’s arts community since 1815, the
Handel and Haydn Society is preparing for its Bicentennial
in 2015. As part of the celebration, each new season will
incorporate works that are significant to the Society’s history as
well as those never before played.
The 2011–2012 Season includes Bach’s St. Matthew Passion,
featuring the Young Men’s and Young Women’s Choruses; a rare
US appearance by conductor Rinaldo Alessandrini; and the H&H
solo debut of new concertmaster Aisslinn Nosky in Vivaldi’s The
Four Seasons.
See the entire season at handelandhaydn.org/concerts.